Microsoft Brings Business Intelligence to the Masses With SharePoint: Q&A: Kurt DelBene, senior vice president of the Office Business Platform Group at Microsoft

DelBene: We frequently sum up our mission as bringing “BI to the masses.” Incorporating Office PerformancePoint Server 2007 features into Office SharePoint Server helps us fulfill that mission and sets us apart from many of the BI vendors that require the purchase of specialized applications.

Analyst firms have told us that BI solutions offered by these other vendors are typically only adopted by about 20 percent of employees at any given company. Part of the reason for such low adoption rates is the expense of licensing additional seats and the learning curve required to become a proficient user.

Microsoft’s BI solution, on the other hand, relies on familiar, widely used tools such as SharePoint Server and Microsoft Office Excel, which is arguably one of the most widely used analysis and planning tools around the world. The ease of use and broad accessibility of our BI offering is part of the reason behind our success. The way we look at it, the more employees who have access to business data, the greater a company’s ability to anticipate changes and make adjustments.